PATH OF ASCENSION
by Ulquiorra9000
Chapter 35
Jaina glared at her opponent, mind whirring. Just how was she supposed to defeat such a monster? She had seen krakens of the deep, cyclopes, and minotaurs before... but this? This was different. Rafael was an alien threat unlike any other.
Stalling for time, Jaina cleared her throat. "Innistrad? Where is that? Somewhere beyond the Five Rivers?"
Rafael laughed, a wheezing, cold sound. "Farther than that. You may not know this, child, but there are worlds beyond Theros that you cannot even imagine. Innistrad is one such world, a wonderfully dark place... unlike Theros."
"So what is a lich? I've never seen anything like you." Jaina's heart raced and her breaths came in tense gasps. She fought for inner control. I can't lose my composure now! Stay steady... you can do this.
"I was born a man on Innistrad," Rafael stated. He ran a bony finger along his deathly face. "With my affinity for black and blue mana, I devoted myself to the dark arts. Eventually, I discarded my mortality for power and wisdom like you could never imagine."
"Oh, yeah?"
Rafael extended a hand and flexed his fingers. "My mana is parasitic and curious in nature. I seek out mages and gain their inner mana, spells, and arcane knowledge when I consume their bodies. The arcane vault in High Rock was one such example, and later, the four trusted ones. Too bad all that energy was spent getting to this point."
Then, Rafael crouched slightly and balled his hands into fists. "So I'll show you my own power instead! Behond!"
Panicking slightly, Jaina backed up a few steps and raised her swords in a defensive posture. Just what was Rafael going to do? You can do this! Stay steady! But it was getting difficult to keep telling herself that.
For a second, Rafael did nothing. Then he suddenly let loose a long, sustained howl and flooded the street with mana. The very air shuddered and vibrated under the strain, and Jaina felt herself clench her teeth against the pressure. But it didn't stop there; Rafael's mana continued to climb, higher than Jaina thought possible. The sunlight dimmed and twilight settled over Meletis like a foul mist, the sun struggling to shine through Rafael's vast mana aura.
"Raaaaaaaaah!" Rafael threw back his head and opened his toothy maw wide as he inflated his mana aura even further. His blue and black mana seethed around him like an ocean, unbelievably dense and potent. The street started to splinter and buckle under the strain, and the houses' walls began to sizzle and corrode.
Then, it was over. Rafael's mana condensed and soaked into his body like water while the sun shone weakly overhead, blotted out by the darkness. "Here we go, girl," Rafael taunted. "Defend yourself!"
Jaina tensed her muscles for Rafael's opening attack, but she didn't expect the lich to vanish in a flash of blue mana. He was completely out of sight, all traces of his mana gone. Did he teleport?
Suddenly, Rafael appeared right before Jaina, a towering figure of death. With a cry, he swung his bare hand right at Jaina's head, his fingers outstretched like claws. Black mana hummed loudly on his hand.
He really did teleport! Jaina crossed her swords into an X and let her enchantments take the brunt of Rafael's vicious blow. Her arms burned and the enchantments sputtered and strained at the point of contract. White, blue and black mana sparks flew into the air.
Desperate, Jaina wrenched her swords aside and diverted the energy of Rafael's blow. The lich's claws tore into the street with terrific force and blasted a three-meter crater into the brick.
"Not bad." Rafael quickly swung again, this time with his other hand. Jaina only narrowly dodged the blow, ducking and rolling to the side. However, Rafael's booted foot snapped out and caught her in the stomach, the blow infused with mana.
Jaina felt the air forced painfully out of her lungs as Rafael's foot smashed into her. She didn't even have the breath to gasp as she was sent tumbling helplessly across the cracked street, stunned. He's too strong!
Again Rafael teleported, and he stood right over Jaina's limp body with a vicious grin across his deathly face. He raised his right hand and brought it down for the killing blow.
Jaina snapped to her feet and barely brought up her blades in time to block the attack. Her head felt light as she fought to draw a breath. Reluctantly, air seeped into her lungs, but for now, only her swords' enchantments kept Rafael at bay.
Rafael pushed harder and channeled more strength into his deceptively thin body. He knocked Jaina's swords aside and slashed his claws through the air with his other hand, grazing Jaina's armored chest. Corrosive black mana sizzled in the wound and filled the air with the foul smell of burnt flesh.
No! Jaina winced as pain wracked her chest, and she felt her strength falter for just a second. Still, she felt herself bring up her swords for a counter-attack, more instinct than anything. Shouting in defiance, Jaina caught Rafael by surprise and sliced deep into his chest.
Or rather, the plated mana that coated Rafael's body. Hardened, thin black mana flared to life around Rafael like armor and endured the impact of Jaina's twin strikes. The blue and white mana mana on Jaina's swords sliced off pieces of Rafael's mana armor, but the lich's body remained untouched.
"Surprised?" Rafael mocked his opponent. "You won't kill me that easily."
"Aaaaaaargh!" Furious, with her fury blinding her, Jaina ignored her instinct to escape and instead rained down more blows on Rafael. She bared her teeth, knowing that it was useless, but she didn't care anymore. Rafael stood for everything she didn't, and if she ran away from him, she'd never forgive herself.
Again and again, Jaina's enchanted swords raked Rafael's armor, and each strike shaved off a piece of armor with the ear-splitting screech of mana on mana. Still, Rafael only chuckled as he endured Jaina's desperate attacks.
"That's enough." Rafael backed up a few steps and extended his hands. "You, Jaina, are the only person standing between me and victory. Lord Erebos is watching me, and he has lost patience for this game."
"I don't care... what Erebos thinks!" Jaina huffed. Sweat ran down her body and her limbs shook from exhaustion. She lowered her swords a bit, both weapons feeling leaden in her hands. Scraps of Rafael's mana armor lay scattered on the street, but the lich himself had yet to be harmed. Was it hopeless?
Rafael chuckled again and channeled his black mana into his hands. "I'll show you my ultimate technique. I call it Schwarze Krallen, or 'black claws'. See?" As he spoke, Rafael's mana extended from his fingers like an amimal's claws, knife-like and six inches long each. They hummed with intense, concentrated energy.
Then Rafael vanished.
"Whoa!" Jaina winced as Rafael teleported behind her, then whirled around and brought up her swords just in time. Rafael lashed out with his mana claws and the talons screeched as they clashed against the swords' enchantments. With a horrible grinding sound, the claws began to cut through the enchantments, slicing clean through the mingled white and blue mana.
Alarmed, Jaina wrenched her right sword free of Rafael's grip and swung it at his skull-like head with all her strength. The enchanted weapon bounced off a helmet-like layer of Rafael's mana, however, and before Jaina could strike again, Rafael seized Jaina's right sword with his bare hand.
"Weak." With clear contempt, Rafael squeezed Jaina's sword with all his strength. Black and blue mana snarled loudly as his claws warped the sword's enchantments. Then, the sheer pressure of Rafael's claws shattered the enchantment like glass and snapped the sword in half.
Defiantly, Jaina swung her other sword at Rafael's head, but it was no good. Like before, Rafael caught the sword bare-handed and crushed it in half, enchantment and all. Shards of blue and white mana clattered to the street, then vanished in puffs of smoke.
Jaina lowered her swords again, staring in horror at the stump-like blades. My weapons! They're ruined!
Rafael lunged with his black claws and caught Jaina in the ribs. Sheer agony blasted through Jaina's brain and she felt Rafael's claws tear into her flesh, and her blood sprayed into the air. She didn't make a move to resist or retreat; she only wobbled on her feet, numb with shock and blood loss. She allowed Rafael to swipe his other hand across her chest, then felt him sink a mighty punch to her sternum.
Again Jaina was sent tumbling across the street, but this time, she made no effort to get up. She lay on her stomach and watched Rafael approach her, helpless tears running down her cheeks. It's over. The Reverent Army is gone. I'm all that's left, and I'm going to die! I'M GOING TO DIE!
Slowly, Jaina reached out with her right arm and seized a chunk of the shattered street, then dragged herself closer to Rafael. She then reached with her left arm and repeated the move, inching toward her terrifying opponent. What was she doing? It was hopeless. She was nothing. Rafael had won.
But what was her life against that of Meletis' citizens?
Jaina scoped out the street through a haze of pain. She saw the charred and decimated bodies of her fellow hoplites and the battlemages, and realized that they had given their lives to defending Meletis and its people. They had felt no fear or hesitation, only strength and resolve in the face of Rafael and his minions.
Why wasn't Jaina doing that too?
I... I have to get up, Jaina scolded herself. She choked back a sob and wiped the tears from her face. I can't just die like a dog!
Then, she remembered Cadoc's words: "Stop being selfish and do what you have to do!" At the time, his words hadn't made much sense, but now, they did.
Alone, I'm nothing... but if I stand for the people, their power is mine. I have to be a conduit for the Meletians' will to survive and endure!
Shakily, wearily, Jaina pushed off the ground and staggered to her feet, tossing aside her useless swords. Why was she crying? She felt adrenaline and white-hot defiance flood through her, and her fear seemed to melt away. She couldn't stand here and feel sorry for herself! Her own life meant nothing... the survival of Meletis meant everything, and it was her duty to see that this city stood firmly against all evil.
Rafael faltered. "Is that...?" he mumbled to himself. He took a step back, suddenly cautious.
Huh? Jaina stood fully upright, her body somehow lighter than before. She raised her left hand and examined the fingers, the brightly-glowing fingers, like a piece of the sun itself.
Heliod.
"You have finally learned what it means to be the sun's champion, Jaina," a deep, immortal voice said in Jaina's mind. "Stand tall and do what you must."
Jaina's pain and weariness seemed to vanish as her whole body began to glow. Layers of pearly-white, star-studded mana materialized and clamped onto Jaina's body like armor, from her neck down to her toes. Sudden strength flowed through her, accompanied by a renewed sense of purpose and confidence. At the same time, the white mana sealed Jaina's wounds shut, leaving no mark from Rafael's devastating blows.
"H... Heliod?" Jaina croaked. "Is that you?"
"Yes," the sun god said gently. "I always had faith that you would rise to become my champion someday. Your path of ascension ends here, young one. Now, use my strength as you would use yours."
In Jaina's right hand, a long shaft of white mana appeared and coalesced into the handle of a spear. The spearhead grew out of the shaft, larger and sharper than any spearhead Jaina had ever seen.
Jaina's eyes widened when she recognized the weapon's shape; it was just like Khrusor, Heliod's legendary weapon of radiance and power. Of course, this spear was only a replica, and scaled down for a human's use. But Jaina was pretty sure that this would be enough to handle Rafael.
"So, the sun god gave you his favor," Rafael commented. He flexed his long, clawed fingers. "Interesting. So you're a notable warrior after all! Still..." He clicked his deadly claws together. "Lord Erebos has gifted me with a fragment of his power in return for my dedication to him and his ideals. Absorbing the Shadow League gifted me not only with the four trusted ones' power, but Erebos' approval as well!"
Of course. Users of dark magic favor ambition and greed over all else, Jaina thought. Erebos had had no personal attachments to the four trusted ones; if Rafael had proven himself stronger by absorbing them, then the god of the dead would see him as a predator worthy of his favor.
"Well, then," Jaina commented as she casually twirled the spear in her right hand. She fixed Rafael with a hard glare. "Want to keep going?"
Rafael assumed a ready stance. "Of course."